The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-07-07

States. Its height is IS feet, has
2,64S pipes and the bellows are sup
piled with air by water power. The
acoustic properties of the building are
simply perfect, it being literally true
that a pin dropped at the organ may
be heard from any seat in the house
On Main street, little south of
Temple Block, stands the huge build
ings of lions Cooperative Mercan-
tile Institution. This is an establish
ment peculiarly characteristic of the
Mormons, and on a smaller scale, is
found wherever the Mormons are.
This was founded by Brigham Young
in 1868. 1t now carries stock of
goods whose tax valuation is over one
and a quarter millions of dollars.
Here every Mormon trades. In fact
it is part of his religion to trade
here and if, for any cause, he buys
even yard of calico elsewhere he is
called up in church and publicly
reprimanded therefor. A repetition
of the offense causes his expulsion from
church on the following Sabbath, and
he is henceforth denied all the privi
leges Of the Saints. In this mammoth
establishment 3Ie feet long and four
stories high can be found everything
that the ingenuity of man has devised
| from a locomotive to the finest laCes.
Connected with it is large boot and
shoe mandatory that employs
about $50 hands, also a shirt and
overall factory of about same size, and
in the northwestern part Of the city
a tannery is run in connection with
the shoe department, the annual
value of its products being over
100000. They also have in the city
all kinds of machine shops, locomo-
tive and Car works, woolen mills,
glass, soap and silk factories, etc. The
water works are magnificent. The
supply is 100000 gallons per hour
including irrigation, only about
5000, 900 gallons per day. The water
comes from City Creek, canon stream
just north Of the city and is beauti
fully clear and limpid. To sum it all
up, they have everything here that can
add to the comfort and pleasure of
the inhabitants and everything shows
in its arrangement and construction
the stamp Of genius in the man who
planned it. This man was Brigham
Young, undoubtedly a fanatic, yet he
lived and died a monarch in a free
country monarch for whom a 10
acre square was too small for his build
ings and when he married his nine
teenth wife, Ann Eliza, he began
on another block and built for her his
last and most magnificent dwelling
house This is known as the Lion
house from the fact that a statue of a
crouching lion is placed over the front
entrance. 1t was in this building that
Brigham died (it is said by his own
hand rather than be tried for bigamy).
Standing on Ensign Peak, dome like
mountain just back Of the tower, and
looking down upon this scene one can
not but admire the genius of this man
who, in his own lifetime, built score
of homes tor himself, a prosperous
city for his God. Here where the
desert claimed everything for its own
and the very waters of the lake were
the bitterest brine, came this man
with a small band Of almost starving
companions and in 80 years built a
city Of 10000 inhabitants, well wa
tured and shaded with every conve
nience of modern civilization and
reclaimed from a desert the loyel;est
valley the sun ever shone upon. 1t Is
sad to think that a man endowed as
he was should have yielded to his evil
passion and under the sacred cloak Of
worshipping God, carry on the abom;-
nable practice of polygamy. This
part of their religion which teaches
that a plurality Of wives is the only
way by which the highest points are TO
be reached in Heaven, is the one great
curse that follows them like an aveng
ing angel Time and again have they
been driven out from their Temples
and seen them destroyed /; but with 4
tenacity Of purpose, unequalIed, they
have gone further away from the cen
tres ot civilization and began again.